


Cliff's Edge

by astra (hauntedpunk)



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, marco is flustered and ax is rather well put together, sorta - Freeform, u know - Freeform, well like first human/andalite kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 11:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6115096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedpunk/pseuds/astra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ax teaches Marco how to kiss Andalite style. Marco returns the favor; a first kiss story of sorts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cliff's Edge

**Author's Note:**

> for the sake of my own peace of mind this takes place toward the end of the series where they're like what 16?? 17?? (aka my age lmao) this is rly just an excuse for me to write andalite kissing & an amateur makeout session without ANY semblance of plot.. i swear i'll write something with plot one day

“Marco?” 

“Yeah, Ax?”

Marco was on the floor of the scoop, tinkering with the boom box he had dragged there in to play music for Ax. 

He was confident that he’d discover some sort of Earth music the Andalite would like. Unfortunately for his cause, the speakers had broken the day before and he had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t exactly due to natural causes. (Read:Ax.) There weren’t any signs of it having been tampered with but x had that Andalite-technology-magic going on and Marco was nothing short of suspicious. 

The TV was on rather quietly in the background playing some chick flick Marco had zero interest in. In his peripheral vision he could see the main guy and girl exchange a heartfelt kiss on the platform of some train station. Disgusting. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

Startled, Marco swiveled around and looked up at Ax. He was in his disturbingly beautiful human morph sprawled out on the couch. 

(Only recently had he developed the urge to hang out in his human morph when he didn’t need to; Tobias had confided in Marco and told him that sometimes he felt as though Ax preferred being human.)

“What?” he demanded. His face was definitely red. “Kiss me? Have the yeerks finally got to you?” 

Ax shrugged, maybe a little self consciously. “I am...curious. Andalites show affection in far different ways. The equivalent of a casual kiss in my culture appears much less intimate when compared to humans. Ans.”

Marco blinked, face cooling down just a bit. “How do Andalites kiss? Without mouths that’s gotta be pretty weird.”

Was that insensitive? Whatever; Marco was confused and any semblance of a filter had been jettisoned the second one of his best friends asked to kiss him. Was he hearing things? Had the insanity of their situation finally gotten to him? 

Ax smiled unabashedly. Even in his human form he seemed to grin mostly with his eyes and Marco was always floored by how genuine he looked when he was happy. 

“Come here,” Ax said, pulling his legs up close to him so that he was sitting cross-legged on the couch. 

He made room for Marco to sit opposite of him. Butterflies in his stomach, he stood up, walked over, and dropped down next to his friend. He sat so that his legs were up on the couch and his knees were touching Ax’s. Urgency seemed to bubble up inside of him, his heart pounding too fast. Why did Ax want to kiss him? Simply because he was present at that moment? Or was there more to it? 

Was he thinking too deeply about it? 

“Are you gonna kiss me in the Andalite way?” Marco asked cautiously. “Is it going to be some Vulcan hand-touching stuff?”

Amused, Ax shook his head. “If you would be okay with it...I would like to show you.” 

Marco nodded slowly. Ax had said that Andalite kisses were ‘less intimate’, so showing Marco how it was done probably wouldn’t be too strange. Nothing that platonic friends couldn’t do. 

“Uh… Go ahead?” Marco told him, leaning forward just a bit. 

His heart was hammering, hammering so hard in his chest, he was sure Ax would be able to hear it. 

Ax smiled again and reached forward to touch Marco’s face. 

His thumb swept over his cheek, lingering there for a moment before he drew the tips of his fingers across his jawline. Marco’s breath caught in his throat. It almost tickled; it was just enough of a sensation to make him feel as though he was buzzing all over. If human kisses were fireworks, Andalite kisses were sparklers - bright and exciting and hands on. 

A small smile forming on his face, Ax brought his other hand up to rest on Marco’s knee. He brushed the hair out of the shorter boy’s face and let his fingers tighten just so around the roots of it, tugging only the slightest bit. It was enough to prompt Marco to close his eyes and simply enjoy the experience. He felt as Ax curved his hand around his jaw, cupping his face there, and then dropping it down so that he could trail the tips of his fingers down his neck. His thumb rubbed small circles into his collarbone, and then he brought it back up to rest on the side of Marco’s face. 

He drew up his other hand so that both of them gently held the sides of his face. Marco opened his eyes slowly and found Ax slightly closer than he had been before, the smile on his face replaced by a thoughtful expression. His skin seemed to tingle wherever it had been touched and he shivered as Ax used one of his hands to grip very lightly around the base of his neck.

“Ahh,” Marco sighed unintentionally.

He immediately went bright red. Oh, God. He just hadn’t expected that to feel so nice. 

Ax moved his hands away, coughed, and smiled nervously. He seemed embarrassed by himself and Marco had to wonder exactly how intimate those motions were to Andalites.

“I apologize, I got a little carried away,” the Andalite said, blushing almost imperceptibly. 

Marco laughed awkwardly. He felt like he was glowing everywhere that Ax had touched him, from the feather light touches on his checks to the more solid pressure at his throat. 

“You don’t have to apologize,” Marco said. “I, uh, really liked that.”

He wondered if Ax could tell how flustered he was. It was a shock to realize that he wished that he had kept going. Marco looked down at his own hands for a split second, thought about the delicate precision with which Ax moved, and came to the conclusion that he must be a very good kisser on his home planet. 

Ax beamed. God, it was weird how stunning he was in human form. (And in his regular form, if Marco was being honest.) 

“Can I kiss you in the human way now?” Marco blurted out, his heart once again pounding in his chest. 

“Yes,” Ax said, like he had been waiting to ask that himself. “Please do.”

With very little finesse Marco leaned forward, moved into a kneeling position so he could reach him. He looked up at him and pressed his lips against Ax’s. 

He wasn’t the most experienced kisser but he knew that in the long run passion makes up for skill, and he went for it with reckless abandon. 

Ax reacted after a startled jump, bringing one hand up to rest on Marco’s face. Marco kissed him slowly at first, with gentle movements and closed lips. Ax was so responsive; he kissed him back eagerly and messily, making Marco smile into the kiss. They were polite kisses with methodical movements and an appropriate distance between the two of them. 

That didn’t last very long.

As Marco kissed Ax he moved around a bit, pulling away for a moment to slide directly onto his lap. Ax got the message and uncrossed his legs so that Marco sat haphazardly on them. As soon as they were positioned once more he dove back into a kiss, throwing away any and all attempt at formality.

He parted his lips and wrapped his arms around Ax’s shoulders, feeling hot all over as he kissed him. The Andalite’s lips were soft and full and he reacted perfectly to the deepening kiss, reciprocating the action. It was undeniably amateur but so unmistakably Ax.

Marco felt Ax’s hands on his face yanking him even closer. The feeling of his hands on him and the hot pressure of the kisses were making Marco feel heady and a little dizzy in the best way. 

It was no surprise that Ax was good with his tongue; the boy was beyond fascinated with his own mouth (and now, it seemed, Marco’s). As soon as Marco tentatively began to french kiss him Ax went for it, slipping easily into the stream of wet, open-mouthed kisses. He was surprised to find that Ax responded by biting down gently on his lower lip, which was mind-numbingly hot. 

Marco let his hands wander over Ax’s chest and then his hips, resting there for awhile. Then he brought them back up to grab behind Ax’s neck and curl the other hand in his hair, pulling accidentally when he felt a hand on his lower back. Ax had lowered his hands to Marco’s lower back, bunching up the fabric of his shirt in his hands. Letting out a quiet noise, Marco gripped the front of his friend’s shirt in his hands. He was kneeling with one of Ax’s legs between his, the Andalite’s other leg hanging off the couch. 

They were so close.

“Hang on,” breathed Marco, breaking away from the kiss. 

He was breathing heavily and so was Ax, who looked impossibly flustered, with bruised lips and red cheeks. His hair was a mess and Marco felt a tinge of pride that he had done that. After pressing a quick kiss to his lips, he began trailing soft kisses down his neck. He bit lightly on the skin there and sucked it into his mouth.

“Oh - “ Ax’s exclamation turned into a low moan. 

Fuck! Marco blinked dazedly at Ax, his entire body seeming to buzz underneath the surface of his skin. That was a noise he wanted to hear again. He went back to leaving hickeys along Ax’s neck, pulling the collar of his shirt down to suck marks onto the taut skin there. Ax let out another moan, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Marco’s hair. 

It was rather adorable how surprised Ax seemed whenever Marco did something that felt good. 

There was so much friction as he returned to kissing Ax; from the kisses, to their bodies pressed against each other, to the hands in his hair, to Ax’s leg underneath of him. Everywhere was hot touches and tension and Marco felt electric. He didn’t want it to stop.

Ax didn’t seem particularly inclined to stop either. He had figured out that biting just so on Marco’s lip caused the boy to basically melt into him, and he was busy exploring other things that elicited the same response. He quickly found that Marco opened up for him as soon as he started kissing his neck and collar bones. Without meaning to he moaned embarrassingly loudly, blushing when Ax let out a huff of laughter. The Andalite was too busy trying to replicate the way Marco had bit and sucked at his neck to stop and address his embarrassment. 

It was only when Marco arched up into Ax’s touch, responding to a particularly sensitive spot on his neck, that Marco realized they should stop. 

“Hey,” he gasped, running his fingers through Ax’s hair to get his attention. “We should - we should stop.” 

Respectful as always, Ax drew away from Marco’s neck and nodded. 

It was a good thing they weren’t standing because Marco would have absolutely collapsed. 

Ax was completely and totally wrecked; his hair was even messier than it had been earlier, the hickeys on his neck were fully formed, his shirt was rumpled and yanked a few inches above the waist of his jeans. Most noticeably though was the look in his eyes, the pleased, spacey glow in his normally alert gaze. 

“So that is human kissing,” Ax said, and Marco swore there was a smirk hidden in his words.

“I, uh.” Marco was at a loss for words. “Sort of. That was probably more just making out. Like, a genre of kissing. You have your basic close-lipped kisses and then you have…”

“That,” Ax supplied.

Oh, yeah, he was definitely smug. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” Marco said, grinning and shoving Ax’s chest.

He was still on top of Ax and a second later he slid back onto the couch. 

“I’m not! I’m simply very happy. Appy.” Ax touched his lips delicately. “I was correct in my assumption that human kissing is far more intrusive.”

Marco rolled his eyes fondly. Ax was such a dork. 

“I like your Andalite kissing though.” 

Ax smiled. “And I like your human kissing.” 

“Can we just agree that they’re everyone’s kisses?” 

Ax was about to reply when Marco realized he had three major hickeys in plain view on his neck. 

“Oh, my God,” he said, running a finger over them. 

“Are they incorrect?” Ax asked. He sounded incredibly concerned. 

“No, they’re great,” Marco assured him. “It’s just...this will be a hard one to explain to my dad and the others.” 

Ax nodded. “Mine will go away when I morph. I believe yours should too, but if they don’t - “ 

Oh, yeah. He hadn't even thought of that. To stop his rambling Marco cut him off with a kiss. An Andalite kiss. 

He swept his hand over Ax’s nose and cheek, dragging his fingers along the curves of his face. He kissed the underside of his jaw with his lips as he trailed his fingertips along his neck, his cheeks, his forehead. Ax seemed to believe that human kissing was more intimate, but Marco disagreed - so little thought went into making out, but with Andalite kissing, he was mindful of exactly what he wanted Ax to feel. 

“Don’t overthink things,” he chided, pressing one last kiss to his lips. 

Ax blushed and Marco’s eyes widened. He laughed excitedly. 

“I got you to blush! Oh, man, I did it!” 

The Andalite shook his head, still blushing. “Blushing is such a strange human concept. I’m glad you accomplished your goal though.”

“Speaking of goals, did you decide that human kissing is more intimate?” 

Ax nodded. 

Marco hummed in response. “Good, because I came up with another conclusion.”

“What would that be?” 

“That we should definitely make out again. Soon.”

Ax’s eyes widened and he nodded very fast. “I agree.”

**Author's Note:**

> these god damn teens


End file.
